Not having it all  and comfortable about it

Startling statistics reveal that a third of Scottish women in their early forties remain childless  the majority through choice, writes Jean West

In her late twenties Susan Windram went back to college to study journalism and spent the next decade moving rapidly through the ranks from trainee reporter to newspaper editor.

At no stage did she or her husband, Alan, find the time or inclination to start a family. “It was not a conscious choice,” she says. “But having married late and both changed careers, we reached a point at about 35 where we thought we have to decide to do this now or never. We liked our lives the way they were and did not want to jeopardise our relationship.”

Windram, 42, is one of a growing number of women in their forties who have, through design or accident, missed the biological boat. Figures released last week revealed that a third of Scottish women aged between 43 and 45 remain childless — the majority through personal choice. Previous estimates suggested that only